Black or White
by Pendrum
Summary: The dichotomy of good and evil.
1. Cloud

**Disclaimer:** Final Fantasy VII is property of Square-Enix.

**Foreword: **This was formerly "Imperceptible Perceptions" but I didn't like where it was heading after the third chapter and so I decided to condense the work and go for something different. Sorry in advance for those who were enjoying all the chapters. I apologize. Cloud's chapter hasn't changed.

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**'Black or White'**

**Cloud**

_I am the light._

Or… so I thought I was. Perhaps this light's fading.

Disillusioned with reality. A forefront of complexity. A web of intricate lies and embellishments.

Here I am and here I stand amongst my peers, drawing them all in. Like a leech sucking on its precious supply line of blood.

I'm to be judged, examined, ridiculed, praised and deceived. I'm to be loved and hated, despised at times, adored during others.

As I sit here, mesmerized by the hypnotic orange and yellow hues of the flames, I ponder.

I ponder what it's like for one day, to be a legend.

For exactly one day, what is it like to be on top of the world? What is it like, to be at the center of attention on a grand scale? Would you succumb to the overwhelming desire to simply fade into mediocrity? Would the immense amount of pressure weigh you down into submission?

Would the spirit of Cloud Strife cave and give in?

At times, I wonder. I wonder but I realize that I am the anchor that holds this ship together and prevents it from sinking. I know this. I know that not even for one second, am I given the simple luxury of being able to second guess and question my motives, my goals, my ultimate mission and quest.

I'm here and I'm now.

I'm on the cusp of doing something great. I can feel it. I can feel it but I have to hold myself. Can't give in to temptation now. Can't give in to desire, to lust, to cowardice, to indolence. I can't give in to any inferior inhibition.

As I look across the flames. I spot Tifa on one side and Aeris on the other. Both separated by a degree of thought.

They don't know it. They don't know that I realize what's apparently going on.

To think that they believe me to be the dense one. The thick headed fool completely oblivious to his surroundings.

It's a lie. A façade I put up to protect myself from the potential emotional complexities that would surely come from being too personally attached.

No. Don't get too attached. Let it happen and you'll find judgment to be impaired. Your decisions no longer seamlessly precise and calculating. Your own words no longer as daunting or powerful. Your lack of command apparent and your respect diminishing. For to let that happen, would constitute you admitting to weakness.

With a set goal in hand, you have to absolutely dedicate every inch of breath into the task at hand. No exceptions. No side rules. No unnecessary distractions.

I'm ridden with guilt. Guilt from the past. Inevitable guilt as a result of the unforeseeable future.

I've let too many down. My hometown. My mother. Zack. Sephiroth. Tifa to an extent.

Nibelheim burnt to a crisp and a shadow of its former self. Rising from despair, my hometown is a synthetic joke. A re-crafted work of art in the hands of the despicable Shinra. A toy that has been remodeled and forged, shaped to a faceless company's needs, its past and history stripped bare, leaving it naked to the internal eye.

My mother was taken mercilessly without consent, without approval and worst of all, without warning. She was my last blood and she went before the rage of scientific creation. Defenseless.

Zack was perhaps the only person I've ever befriended genuinely. He was fascinating, appreciating me for who I was, neglecting my shortcomings and praising instead criticizing. Encouraging instead of degrading. Striving to help instead of abuse. A true role model. I failed you. For all your strengths, your courage, determination, it was your blind trust and faith in another that led to your demise. I'm sorry old friend. I'm sorry for not being able to do more. For being unable to have you here by my side, aiding me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Sephiroth why? What happened to you? You were the greatest there ever was and possibly will be. An epitome of perfection. A true legend. Why Sephiroth? Why did you succumb? Was it to the pressure? Was it for fear of being far greater than you imagined? A living nightmare. That is you. Can you hear me Sephiroth? You are my negative. I will balance it all out and return things to place. Hopefully. I'm not afraid. I embrace it.

Tifa as I look at you through the flames, I see all I need to see. I see your pain. I see your imperfections. I see your beauty and your unwavering optimism. But it's all for naught Tifa. You don't have to lie to me. You're not as strong as you appear. You need a pillar of support. I don't know if it can be me anymore Tifa. I failed. I failed you as I did with the others. When you give me that look out of the corner of your eye, I see it. I see it just as I see and feel all the other looks from everyone else. Your subtle hints, your body language, your messages. I can read them all.

But Tifa, I'm sorry.

I'm sorry I can't be there for you anymore. I can't simply sacrifice my purpose for your needs. Understand that I wish I could do more but I have to focus solely on my task.

Aeris, I'm sorry for the very same reason. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for any upcoming moments when I may let you down.

I'm sorry.

You both need to understand that this is not time for trivial romance. No time for simple or complex infatuations. No time for attachment.

No.

I am an army of one. I am Cloud Strife and I will do what I do best. I will bring down my opposite. I will open the gates and flood the area with light, as dim as it may be. It's been far too long that the darkness has resided within.


	2. Sephiroth

**Sephiroth**

_I am the darkness._

Hidden beneath a blanket of obscurity. I stay in shadow, shielding myself from the simplicity of society and its cancerous nature.

I am legend. I am storm.

The wicked chapter of your life. I am in your dreams and more specifically, further corrupting your nightmares, residing deep within the confines of your membrane. I induce paranoia.

Embrace me, accept me and salute me. Bow to me.

You wish to defy my purpose? Misunderstood as I may be, it is you who must appreciate my reasoning.

For I am lost. I am lost and have fallen off my pedestal, no longer capable of holding myself in higher regard. It is thanks to you Strife. All thanks to you, you simple fool.

Without a purpose, without set confines, without duty or an obligatory task, I am nothing.

I am, or was, the definition of control. Religion was my control and I was religion. We were interchangeable and thrived together through a perfect marriage of dispassionate love.

It is I who burned those people. Consciously, I was aware. I was alive and alert, perhaps more so than ever. With a great feeling of ultimate fulfillment, quenching the depths of my thirst, the searing flames tickled and satiated my appetite.

I lust for power. I lust for strength. Above all, I lust for purity. To reach an uncompromised form would be absolute.

I am god or will strive to be soon.

You cannot stop me Strife. You are weak. Simple and frail. A product of today's misconstrued society. A package of bundled normalcy. You are inferior and I am superior. I have always been the greater.

Understand that my feelings and emotions are nonexistent. No longer am I chained down by the burdens of human nature. I strive for a purpose. A certain wanting of absolute knowledge.

I was the public's marvel. Their infatuation, increasing with time at a deadly pace. It was all grand. Overwhelming you could say. Magnificent and beautiful at the same time. Like a superficial wound, one would only be capable of seeing the image presented to them. No dire need to examine it deeper. No dire need to ask questions about the severity of the problem. No dire need to ask questions about me. About whom I am.

About whom Sephiroth is… or was.

A gleaming visual of perfection. All that was necessary. Do you not understand? Do you not see? Are you so shallow as to only be capable of viewing me from one plane? The looking glass works both ways. Was it truly unnecessary to go forth neglecting my shortcomings?

Was it an attribution to my downfall?

Now, as I stand over the canyon, overlooking you and your feeble companions, I stop for moment. Should I pause and reflect on my previous relationships? Is it pertinent that I do this? To conjure up a memory of the past in the form of contentment?

Was that it? Was that what it was? Have I ever experienced such an emotion?

There was of course, one noticeable warrior in particular apart from you. On a level of my own you could say in terms of rank. Is it possible to deem him a former ally? Perhaps, perhaps not. Certainly at one point, we shared a moment of understanding, a mutual perspicacity. Yes, he had been there. Hardships ensued and possibly for the briefest of intervals, there was perchance, a short time of bonding.

To come across me during my quest for knowledge would result in complete disregard on my behalf towards your well-being.

This is where he is at fault. This is where Zack failed. Realize however, that had he succeeded, I would command a far greater deal of respect towards his direction. A waste of my time. Simply a lapse from my familiar progression.

And so, now, what is to be determined of you?

No, you and I may never be classified or associated as being friends. Certainly not comrades nor companions either. We were men with a duty. With an agreeable objective in mind. Professionals dedicated to the task.

This is where I shall unveil a shred of my prized privileged information.

In the recesses of my fractured, disheveled mind, I know now. I know that it is you, above all, whom I respect and hold with a high regard. Forgive my belligerence, the rancor often accompanying my words. Forgive it all if you will for a moment.

Forgive it, for you are my greatest enemy and for that, I will always respect you to a degree. Despite your shortcomings. Despite your intolerable susceptibility. Despite it all.

It was you who stopped me. Never forget that. A voice of reason somewhere within must surely permeate and echo those words from time to time.

You. No one else. Simply you. Not Zack. Nor another from SOLDIER. Not Tseng of the Turks or the entire Shinra army itself. You.

A challenge has been placed. I eagerly await with anticipation, calling forth to you, beckoning as you draw near, only to slip from your grasp and elude you. Why do I do this?

Simple. It is neither the time nor the place. When deemed permissible, you and I will engage in a test of strength, valor, determination and reasoning.

Who will prevail?

I leave the challenge and deciding factor to you, my greatest rival. Although I will never unequivocally admit to this.

Forgot not, that I am the black pit. You are the encompassing light or so you choose to be. Dedicate yourself to this moment and look forward to conjecture from your peers. Will it be the shortcomings they perceive or your accomplishments? Regardless, they are all trivial.

But take it from me. It is unfathomable being a legend. The task itself is foreboding. Be content with your predicament.

Come. Come forth and answer me. Heed my call. But not here.

We will meet in the place of darkness and I await the white challenge.

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**A/N: **This was a two-piece shot and again: sorry for altering the story.


End file.
